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Categories: Thai, Vegetarian [Edit]
1045 San Pablo Ave
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They don't put the word Authentic in their sign but that's exactly what my chili loving husband and I thought when we ate here the other night. The food was really well prepared-- exactly like the high-end food we eat in Bangkok when we're in Thailand. I would usually take off one star for the noise level in the busy place (I'm very picky about ambience) but the food was worth it and the service blew my mind-- especially after the previous night at Maritime East where we paid 4x more, had 3x more service staff, and left frustrated and tired. The waitstaff at Ruen Pair are superheros.
But really, don't order hot unless you want pain.
At every other Thai restaurant we go to, we always ask them to make it "Thai spicy," which often still isn't spicy enough. I knew that Ruen Pair's reputation was that their "Thai spicy" could make grown men cry, so I decided to start off with some appetizers at the "medium" level and work our way up.
Got the papaya salad and tom yum soup at "medium" spicy. Both were delicious and had a higher heat level than any other restaurant we had been to. We still felt we could kick it up a notch though, so we got the beef penang curry, eggplant and pork, and braised fish all at a "level 7" hot - somewhere in between "medium" and "spicy."
Wow! The initial taste is very misleading as it makes you think you can easily handle more. It's easy to feel like everything is fine, as long as you are shoveling food into your mouth. But once you stop and pause.....the heat immediately starts to build up. After five seconds of doing nothing, your mouth and throat starts to feel like it's on fire. It's usually around that time that your oh-so-helpful server decides to get you a drink refill, and you start counting the number of tears that fall before the water makes it back to your table.
There are plenty of places that can just throw in chiles and spice to make things "hot" and not pay attention to flavor. What makes Ruen Pair so good is that the food is not only forehead-sweat-hot, but it's tasty and delicious to boot! You must try their homemade coconut ice cream - it's slightly gummy yet silky in texture and is the perfect fire extinguisher of a dessert!
Albany's a bit far for a casual dinner out, but if I'm ever in that area, I'm definitely stopping by Ruen Pair! Hmmm, Thai food and a day at the horse track? Sounds like a day in heaven to me!
food: EXCELLENT
service: EXQUISITE
decor: TASTEFUL
price: a tad expensive...but that's ok, because the food is SUPER good!!!
Hands down, this is the BEST thai food EVER!!! And I've actually been to THAILAND!! It's super authentic and it's soooooo YUMMY!!!
You'd be CRAZY to not come try the food at this place!
Ordered:
--thai ice tea (tasted more like a thai coffee..but that's ok, still good!)
--Pa Nang Curry with beef (gave you more beef than curry! SOO GOOD!)
--Papaya salad (BEST SALAD EVER!)
--Sauteed Green beans with tofu (DELICIOUS!)
--Bill totaled to ~$45.....the proportions were kinda small for the price you pay, but when food is this good, you can cut it some slack....
I just can't say enough good things about this place! JUST GO TRY IT!! You won't be disappointed! I promise!!
Open late (we got in at 9:45 PM on a Monday night).
Has it's own parking lot.
Fast and friendly service - our water glasses were kept well filled and despite the fact that they were closing up, we never felt rushed.
Great food -
mee krob - generous with the noodles, sauce and meat.
tom ka - served piping hot and the mild was pretty darn spicy
crystal noodle salad - also spicy, but refreshing and tasty
A big meal, but not a heavy one. It did well to satiate my craving for Thai!
Lawds, lawds I love Ruen Pair.
When we moved to the East Bay, we lived in fear of trying new restaurants and experiencing sickness when said restaurants failed to understand what *gluten free* actually means.
Not only does Ruen Pair make incredible, authentic Thai food, they are beyond accommodating with food allergies and gluten intolerance. Never once have they messed up, never once have I been sick.
Best of all, they keep a handy database with your past orders in it, so if you're driving around, want to order and haven't got a menu, you can just say "Hey, what was the pork dish I had last time?" And they'll tell you what it was and make it again.
Ruen Pair, I love you.
I have been a patron of this restaurant about a dozen or so times over the last year. The service is fairly good and the kind waiter was always there when we needed something. I have literally tried every single Thai restaurant in the area so I know what's good and what is bad. There are some mixed reviews about this restaurant, but the general consensus for our party was fairly positive. The Pad-Thai is average and the curries are flavorful, however the beef isn't the most tender and can be a bit chewy at times. Other than that, most of their entrees are delectable.
so very unimpressed. i got it on the run via take out.
i went with the standard pad thai and thai fried rice, which, in any thai restaurant, should be classics. the fried rice was flat, the pad thai was too sticky and clumpy. the portions were generous, but a lot of food that isnt amazing doesnt really help much. everything was just so very mundane. not feeling it at all.
im just so... unimpressed.
I would give you five stars except for the cat who came wandering under our table during dinner.
We started with Crispy Tofu, cubes served with fresh cilantro, ground peanuts, and sweet chili sauce--if not for the sauce, no flavor, but reminded me of a lesser cousin of a Singaporean dish eaten in Lafayette.
We were ten people, so had many dishes, the best of which were the following. Pad Si Eewj--pan-fried flat rice noodles with eggs, Chinese broccoli, garlic, and sweet Soy Sauce-- the noodles stuck together and were so homey and comforting and tasty. Choo Chee Salmon--thick fillet sautéed with red chili paste, coconut milk, sweet basil leaves, and bell peppers--the best dish! Pad Ka Prow--with a mix of sweet basil leaves, chili, and garlic--got it with chicken--spicy! Pad Ka Prow--roasted Duck Curry with pineapples, bell peppers, tomatoes, sweet basil leaves, and red curry paste simmered in coconut milk. I can't remember all the dishes, but no one complained and nothing was left on the plates. We also split deserts.
I would go back with reservations because of the cat (and I am a cat lover!) Where else has she been? In the kitchen? They did give us our own room in the back because we were a large party, and they were wonderful service-wise.
I love Ruen Pair.
This place is authentic, always good, and even a therapeutic meal if you're not feeling 100%. It is very cute & thai, as well as great service. Would recommend to people that like spicy food!
There are lots of Thai places to choose from in the area and I feel like we've been making our way down San Pablo trying to find the right one. Ruen Pair isn't the right one for me.
First of all, the prices are high for run of the mill Thai food you can find at other places for much less. I'm not one to complain about expensive food, but if it's just mediocre and you can find it anywhere else, then I'm going to gripe. Putting table cloths and cloth napkins out doesn't justify expensive prices!
Our prawn and rice dish had maybe four prawns in it and the rest way gloppy rice. The flavor was good, but come on, four prawns?
The tom kha gai soup had good flavor and was nice and spicy, but again, it wasn't anything super special, yet the price seemed to say otherwise.
I think I'm going to continue my trek down San Pablo for just the right Thai place.
I must say this is my favorite Thai restaurant in Berkeley area. I am a regular here. It is little far from my work but worth the drive. The staff is friendly and is very helpful in making suggestions. I would suggest avoiding spicy food as it is really hot here. I really don't like the pineapple fried rice but the pad Thai and rice noodles are great. Quantities are generous and food is flavorful.
I do think they need to work on the lighting as one area (entrance) is too brightly lit and the back dining hall is dark. It is a great place to bring large groups
My son and I decided to do take-out here last night. And as a teenage boy, he can sure eat! Gayle also thinks that he has his mother's more refined tastes in food.
I think Ruen Pair has been around almost as long as I have in Albany (~1990), I do remember that this place was closed for a time several years ago and that before then the back dining area (now pretty much cordoned off) had some neat low floor sitting tables. The present front seating area is comfortable and inviting, although the bar (dark woods and lighting) on the other side of the room seems out of place.
Our takeout service was quick and friendly. I settled for some pad Thai, while my son had the BBQ Chicken dish, egg rolls, rice, and a Thai ice tea. It was all excellent and it was great sharing a meal together at home. And even though my preference is "the spicier the better", we both kept that in check last night.
OK so I just wrote a review for Oscar's in Berkeley, which also received a 3 1/2 average. Wtf?! Ruen Pair is far and away a better restaurant. I've always complained that Thai food (and any other "ethnic" food) in the Berkeley area has generally been watered down to suit the, to put it bluntly, dull tastes of the general populace. That certainly isn't the case with Ruen Pair, and though I've only been their twice I feel pretty confident that it can hold its own against other Thai restaurants.
Gai Hor Bai Ter () 7.95
Chicken breast marinated in honey, white wine, and coconut milk wrapped in Pandan leaves and served with sweet chili sauce.
Great starter!!
Thai Crispy Rice Salad () 8.95
Ground pork tossed with ginger, shallots, green onions, and Thai chili paste topped with Thai crispy rice and peanuts. I ordered this Medium Hot and I could see through time. But in a good way. Meaning that I could still distinguish the delicate balance of all of it's flavors. The Thai Iced Tea certainly helped to sooth the tingly-ness.
Crystal Noodle Salad () 8.95
Glass noodles with prawns, calamari, ground pork, mushrooms, shallots, and Thai chili paste in our lime vinaigrette. YUMMY
I am giving this place Five stars because they CAN AND WILL make it HOT.
I love spicy food.
This may be the Hottest placce in the Bay if you order right!
Yes, they need to work on helping customers better during rush hours, but man...
The duck is yummy,
and the Prawn Salad- if ordered HOT will get you!!!
S and I tried some things that as far as I can tell, have never been on the menu of our local and favorite Thai restaurant.
We ordered Banana Seafood for our appetizer. It did not taste like sea food, it did not taste like bananas; it did taste good so I would order it again, but it was pricey for the few pieces that we were served.
The curry paste cat fish and the sautéed roast duck were both very spicy. If I have them again I will order medium or mild. S wants his hot so we might not share if we go again.
I was so sad this place wasn't better. We were in the area doing errands and I had heard this place may be good. But I definitely heard wrong...
The meal started out promising with the Tom Ka soup. Which everyone found very tasty. But then the main dishes came and it was disapointment city.
Ruen Pair Special Noodles, Roast Pork with Chinese Broccoli, Pa Nang Curry with Chicken and Sweet and Spicy Green Curry with Chicken.
Everything was pretty bland and I think they need to up the spicy. Plus the other reviewer was right, its fried pork not roast pork! If you put roast pork, i expect crispy skin with a juicy meaty, wahhh
Overall a big ole disappointment. Is there any good thai in the Bay area? le sigh
The waitstaff here makes you feel like you're at home. I started out with the Som Tam - "mild, please." It seemed to pockmark my tongue with little chemical burn craters. The seemingly innocuous main course of 'steamed fish' (gorgeously served unsustainable splurge) was still inedible 10 minutes afterwards because it, too, was hotter than anything my Nana ever fed me.
Lots of rice and yogic breathing were about all that helped. I robbed my date of the vegetables in his red curry, mumbling through tears and crackly coughs that the food was really, really good. Because I've truly never had such well-integrated spice as at Ruen Pair. Instead of seeming like a crude afterthought the heat blossoms invisibly, as if from within. Date accused me of masochism but, seriously. It's that good. I will definitely be back, although I don't know why.
We've been eating at Ruen Pair for many years - since at least 2000. The people are very friendly and welcoming. I can't recall ever having a bad experience, except maybe when we forgot to specify the heat level of the food and got too-authentic flavor!
One of the best dishes in my experience eating Thai food (in the West) is the Sa Dat pork. It's a grilled pork dish in lime juice with garlic and chili slices -- totally amazing! The Tom Ka Gai is amazing, and all of the appetizers are great, too.
I apologize for giving Ruen Pair only four stars -- it may well deserve 5. But my experience with it so far has been limited to two orders of takeout; I understand that I haven't experienced this place at its best. The takeout was excellent, but I'm reluctant to perturb the star average all that much without more experience.
I got here by reading http://quomodocumque.w... , where my friend Jordan E. makes the following claim: "Ruen Pair in Albany, CA, [is] maybe the best Thai restaurant in America. (I dream of their simple, perfect Bangkok omelet.)" That was pretty good -- I absolutely *had* to try the Bangkok omelet. I rang them up and ordered the omelet, as well as a bunch of other dishes. Everything was first-rate delicious, except for the Pad Thai, which I found someone ho-hum. (Did I neglect to mention that I ordered the stuff "extra mild"? My bad.)
Then I wrote to my friend Ian M., who opined "I thought it the best Thai I have tried in the Bay area. And they do make it Thai spicy if you ask. If you go again, the dish I remember from my visit were the Naked Prawn salad (raw shrimp in a garlic, chili, lime dressing--hot) and the Issan sausage." So I made another phone call and got the two dishes that Ian recommended. Both were fabulous. (I was timid and asked that the naked prawns be cooked. Usually you get them raw.) It's clear that I'll be back, probably soon. I'll arrange to bring a dozen or so of my best friends on a Thursday evening, and we'll see how Ruen Pair does.
PS: Nothing like an Austrian riesling with this food! I had some on hand for my takeout, and it was a great match.
i love yelp!
We tried this place last night and everything was perfect! Decor was pretty traditional, waiter & waitress were quick and attentive, the food was to die for!
We ordered duck pad thai, duck curry with coconut milk, pad si eew, and pad ka prow. Everything tasted SO good!
Just a warning- get spicy only if you can handle it! Our waitress was funny... my bf ordered the pad ka prow "medium." She asks him, "have you had our medium before?" haha... Nice that she checked.
We also had a pretty generous portion of thai iced tea- =)
For dessert, we had thai tea ice cream and mango with sticky rice. Delicious! Can't wait to go back (my friend went back tonight!). =)
Decent food, meh prices.
The green papaya was cut too thickly--making it hard to chew.
The Pad Thai was decent. Not bad but not great.
The Duck curry was absolutely delicious.
I would go back just for the duck curry and the ambiance. I think those two things are where the restaurant invests all its money.
The service was great too.
A few years ago, I had a good meal here.
More recently, not so much. I thought I liked spicy food.
Even the mild dishes were making me sweat profusely. Each bite made the next more painful. Flavors were good, but holy sadistic cook, batman!
My date couldn't eat anything at all.
If I thought the food caused pain on the way in... it was nothing compared to the pain on the way out.
We now call this place "Ruened xxxhole".
Just had a fantastic Tom Yum with rice noodles, medium heat. Very fresh meat and veggies and the fish balls were just about perfect.
I cant imagine a better lunch on a crisp December day.
I will be back many times and will update this review/
I was looking to try a new restaurant in my Entertainment Book since the coupons expire soon. I found Ruen Pair in the book and then noticed the overall 4 star rating on Yelp so I was excited. I called to make sure that they were open and the lady was a little rude. I decided to take my mom and my girlfriend anyways. We drove 25+ miles and one bridge toll to get there just because of the coupon. We were the only people there. Like someone mentioned in an early review, you get 4 prawns in the $10 prawn dish. We got 6 but still, WTF? They were tiny prawns and the portions were small for everything. When we got our soup, the lady did not serve it. She left it there with the stacked bowls and walked away. She didn't come back for a while so my mom had to get up to get some utensils. They didn't bring out the sauces so my mom had to get up once again to look for it. 20 minutes into the lunch, we were told that they wouldn't accept the coupon because it was a holiday. It was a holiday weekend but we came in on a Saturday, two days before the holiday. I've been using Entertainment books for 15 years so I know their rules. As a business owner, the Entertainment Book get's you customers that normally wouldn't find you. I didn't feel like arguing. For the first time in 3 years, I chose to not leave a tip. I'm having a hard time trusting Yelp reviews these days. Anyone want a coupon? Maybe they'll take it or use another excuse. I'm not that hard to please (check my reviews) but one star! Since they're a sponsored result, my review will probably get lost towards the end.
Very good overall. Tom yum soup and papaya salad was very good. Get mild for papaya salad, as it is very spicy, even at medium. Definitely not the standard American "spiciness". Fish however was disappointing. It wasn't very fresh. The curry was excellent but again the chicken was bland. They must have cooked it before putting it in the curry. Still it was one of the better Thai restaurants in the US. The service was very good. Wait staff is always polite and helpful.
I like this place for the food but to be honest, the service has been pretty bad the last couple times I've been here. I'd give this place a 3.5 possibly due to the service. There used to be a great waitress named Toon, but I don't think she's worked here for awhile. Plus, due to the accoustics of the room, it can be quite loud particulary during dinner time. But, now onto the good part, the food! All the noodle dishes I've here are fantastic: pad thai, pad kee mao, pad si ew, spaghetti kee mao, and special house noodles. Their portions are generous and the spaghetti kee mao is a nice, flavorful fusion dish. Word to the wise, their definition of spicy is more authentic than others, so spicy means SPICY! I love spicy food and the hot food makes my mouth burn. I've also tried their general noodles soup, yen ta fo soup, papaya salad, larb salad, duck salad, as well as their curries and a pad prik dish or two. If there service improved considerably, I'd probably come here more often.
This is a place with *spicy* food. Don't think, "Yeah, but I REALLY love spicy food, and I eat it all the time. I can handle it." Actually, you might not be able to.
I knew we were in trouble when the woman on the phone said "Medium spicy? You know, no refunds." No refunds?! Who asks for a refund for their dinner, anyway...
We ordered some seafood and banana fried appetizer things (weird, but good, and expertly fried), the lemon grass salad (medium spicy, which you could feel burning all the way down into your intestine), the larb (a little less spicy, and AMAZING), and the panang curry with beef. The beef was a little tough, but the sauce was delicious.
I'm off to the leftovers now, with milk, bread, sugar, and all other fire-quenchers ready.
wow it's so spicy it's like eating shards of glass. but in a good way! So hot that my date started hiccuping. totally authentic flavors and sinus clearing spices. I'll be going back, but next time I'll wimp out and order medium spicy. to be fair the Thai waitress warned us that she only had the medium spicy, and that it couldn't be undone, and then checked again to make sure that we really wanted the SPICY. so consider yourself warned.
we had the naked (raw) shrimp papaya salad,
Tom Kha Gai
Duck curry
brown rice (really a nutty red)
Sauteed morning glory
all delicious, and i was super stuffed and happy.
lest you think that my taste buds aren't calibrated for heat, I grew up in Jamaica eating jerk pork and spent last Christmas in Thailand.
This is my favorite Thai place in the Bay Area. I have been going here with my wife for 7 years and we have never been disappointed. The Spicy Beef Salad is an excellent way to start and you can't go wrong with any of the seafood dishes. Service is good, they never rush you even if it is late or busy. Free parking, which is always a plus when we come over from Marin County just to have dinner at Ruen Pair.
I have dreams of this place. Sweet, sour, salty , and definitely spicy dreams. My hubby and I won't go anywhere else for Thai. The staff is very friendly.
Havent been here for a while but the memories...
The only authentic Thai food ive found. After…
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Oh holy Lord, this has gotta be my favorite restaurant. I am always hoping to go here on special occasions and when ever else I can find an excuse to go. Start out with a Thai iced coffee, then move on to the crispy won tons & the angel wings. (oh god my mouth is watering just thinking about it, damn) Then the green curry and Pad Thai. Finish off with my all time fav the mangos and sticky rice. The restaurant is really beautiful and I find it romantical. :)
I miss my old neighborhood Thai restaurant: Thai place II. Upon moving to the east bay, my husband and I have still not found a regular go-to Thai place. Maybe it's been impossible, because we keep comparing everything to our old place...
The following are thoughts on Ruen Pair, which was decent but not all that:
Immediately, we saw a beautifully decorated and lit restaurant with a lovely ambiance. Pretty full but not too crowded or loud. Saw that it was family run. Things were looking good. Well, we waited and waited and waited for our food. I don't expect things to come out in nanoseconds, but I do expect somewhat prompt service.
The food was generally good and flavorful, with a nice amount of spice. (Warning: can be on the spicy side, which is really the authentic Thai way.) However, the dishes we ordered seemed more than a bit skimpy.. for example there was not much curry sauce that came with the curry dish. I suppose that's a personal preference of mine.. bring on the curry sauce!
Anyway, we're not going to come back to this place any time soon. The search for great east bay Thai food continues...
I had such a fond memory of a meal a few years ago with my friend, back in a time when we were both single and carefree, sampling many a Thai place, our mutually favorite cuisine. OK, so I was already in a relationship. Unfortunately, that meal will remain a memory. Flash forward to Sep 2008, and the experience of eating there was quite a bit different.
Here are a few ways that Ruen Pair did not live to those past memories:
1. The portions are so much smaller now! A whole fish was about the size of my palm. The fishcakes, the size of a detergent cap...you get the idea.
2. What you do get seems to be skimpy on sauce/curry.
3. Prices are ridiculously high now! $24.95 for the aforementioned fish dish is quite exorbitant.
It was nice to experience the same level of service and attentiveness as before- water was promptly refilled, dishes were explained in detail and food was prompt. The decor was still bright and inviting.
Granted, things are never quite how you remember them. But what you do remember that kept you going is no longer the case, then it's time to say goodbye, good service notwithstanding.
Can't wait till the Noodle House on San Pablo reopens!
I am rating this 5 stars simply on the dishes that I have had, and I love spicy food. The curry, specifically the Jungle is incredible. The Tom Yum Vegi soup is so good. I'm pretty sure if I could only eat one meal for the rest of my life it would be that soup. I have yet to find another Thai place in the East Bay that has curry and Tom Yum as consistently as good and spicy as Ruen Pair.
The staff although a little inept remembers me and knows what I want to order as soon as they see me.
The music is corny and the bar is useless.
The portions are kinda small and if it you don't like spicy food be careful here!
You can see my previous Thai food reviews to see how hot I like my curry.
I ordered the crazy jungle curry, I'll admit I only order it because of the name. When the waitress took my order I asked for it spicy. I got the typical "white girls can't handle heat" look and she asked me if I was sure. I went ahead and ordered it and I have to say, in this case she was right. My gringo behind couldn't take it. I took it home, diluted it with an entire thing of soy milk and other veggies and THEN I could eat it.
My SO had soup, that they brought out in one of those pots with fire in the middle. Cool!
I also had a whole coconut. There was an older couple seated next to us who asked what it was. here was the conversation:
OW=old woman
FR=Fabulous Ruth
OW: "What is that?"
FR: "It's a coconut"
OW: "but what's in it?"
FR: "uhhh.......coconut???"
This is now a reoccurring joke in my house.
I had to take one star off because they had no mango. I was deprived of my mango and sticky rice desert. Booo!
If the dad is cooking it's REALLY good and spicy.
When I was working near Ruen Pair, I ate lunch there almost every day.
There are 3 cooks and they are definitely in different classes of skill, so the quality and consistency of dishes can vary.
The spicinesss and the depth of the food depend on what peppers are available at market. When the right peppers are available and the Dad is cooking, this is easily some of the most flavorful and spicy delicious Thai I've eaten.
The waitstaff are all adorable, nice and know a lot about the food but most of them are shy... so ask questions.
It's a great cheap place to go to lunch and it's not fancy at all... so don't set your expectations too high. Ask who's cooking, if it's the dad, I'd seriously reconsider asking for the food to be anything past medium spicy.
I agree with someone else here aboiutr avaoiding the Pad Thai, but the Tom Ka (soup) is tasty, the Gai Ga Prow is a spicy favorite, the Red and Green Curries are great... the Jungle Curry is great... oh just go and check it out.
It's a little drafty in there so bring a jacket.
Ok so I can be a little dense. People keep telling me that this place serves good Thai food so I go and it's not good Thai at all --- not spicy, not tangy, not fresh and yes stingy and way too much sugar. 6 months later, people keep telling me this place serves good Thai food so I go AGAIN and it's not good Thai at all --- not spicy, not tangy, not fresh and yes stingy and way too much sugar.
This has been going on for years --- one day I will learn there is no good Thai food in Berkeley.
Updated April 2008
This USED to be one of our favorite places to eat but we haven't
been there for almost two years.
. We used to go there at least TWICE a month. We must have eaten here at least 50 times IN THE PAST...never again. Other friends who were fans have stopped going too for the same reasons:
-Prices are up.....most dishes are $9.95 or higher
-Food quality down....did they change chefs???
-Portions are now MINISCULE......we ordered vegetarian versions
of some dishes and were served bowls with a couple of tablespoons of food. When we complained, the staff pretended they didn't understand.
-Different staff......seems to be an entirely different staff.
There are two fabulous Thai places less than a mile away that we now claim as our favorites.
I dont know why Ruen Pair has only gotten 3.5 stars, although from the looks of it there arent any highly rated east bay thai places. I think this was the best of them, but its location far from campus keeps it from being as heavily trafficked as places like Cha-am. Everything I have had here is good but the things I think about and miss the most now that I dont live in the bay area, are the banana seafood appetizers and the papaya salad. The papaya salad is pretty spicy though, even when you ask for it to be mild, so be forewarned.
Excellent food - had one of my best Thai meals ever tonight.
We started with the Angel Wings which my least favorite dish - portion of 2 seemed on the skimpy side but they were crisp and the filling was tasty. Next came the Tom Yum soup that we got with chicken - the best I have ever had, ever. It was a little spicy and deliciously sour and a little salty - a delightful dance of flavors. It came in a flaming hot pot that contained 5 and 1/2 bowls of soup, a generous portion. This was followed by the crispy rice salad that also had ground pork, shallots, slivers of red onion and lots of ginger - very delicious although it could have had a tad bit more marinade for my taste. The surprise dish was what was called Chinese Broccoli with Roast Pork. The Roast Pork was crunchy and probably deep fried and was stupendous. The Gai Lon was perfectly cooked and cut into bite-size pieces in a pleasant bean sauce that was the only dish that didn't have at least a bit of a kick of heat.
The only complaint I can muster is that a very brusque waitress came to take our drink and appetizer order in a rush shortly after we were seated. She returned in a couple of minutes to take the rest of the order. When the food came it was not paced well. The soup came while we were still finishing the wings. And just after we served the soup the rice salad came followed immediately by the Chinese Broccoli. In addition to making us feel rushed each new dish cooled while we were busy eating the other dishes.
But, the food, especially the soup and Chinese Broccoli were so amazingly delicious that I didn't care about much else. We will be returning very soon.
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